


Parenting Made Fun

by sweetspice



Series: Lachla's Fire Emblem AU [1]
Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Adopted Children, Alternate Universe - Fire Emblem, Family Dynamics, Festivals, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2021-01-02 12:55:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21161999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetspice/pseuds/sweetspice
Summary: “You two,” Kaoru begins, mouth full of orange hair, “are the best children in the world.”“Yes we are!” The twins say in unison, tails wagging with happiness.





	Parenting Made Fun

_ “See, Kaoru, aren’t they cute?” Rei said, holding each kid with one arm, both looking at Kaoru with equally bright, curious green eyes. He balanced them extremely well considering they were eleven years old, and Kaoru would be amazed by it had it not been by the fact that they still looked like they were six. “Look, children, he’s a kitsune, just like you. Say hello to him.” He directed his words at the boys this time, dipping his head in Kaoru’s direction at the end of his sentence. _

_ “Hello!” They said in unison, smiling at him. _

_ “I’m Hinata!” The one on the right said, lifting his hand to wave at Kaoru. _

_ “I’m Yuta!” The one on the left followed, waving just the same. _

_ “Well hello there.” Kaoru smiled back at them, agreeing that they were indeed cute, with hair pulled back by beautiful ornaments, wearing springy clothes and tails wagging along with their happy expressions. _

_ When he first heard that Rei had brought home new children, _kitsune_ children, Kaoru just had to meet them. It had been a while since he last saw someone of his kind, his family left in a far away past, so he had been more than excited for his visit. _

_ The twins jumped from Rei’s hold, coming closer to Kaoru to inspect him. “Your fur is so shiny!” Hinata said, going behind him to take a better look at his tail. _

_ “And your outfit is so pretty!” Yuta added, getting on the tip of his toes to try and get his point of view at the same height as Kaoru’s necklace and adornments hanging between his open blouse, still ending up a few centimetres short of it. _

_ “Waa~ it’s super fluffy too!” Hinata had proceeded to grab Kaoru’s tail and feel it, paying no mind to his personal space. _

_ “Really? Let me feel it!” _

_ “W-wait, don’t grab it that hard!” _

_ Kaoru became quickly overwhelmed by them, their excitement way more than he was expecting. Rei didn’t say a thing, but the wrinkles around his eyes were a tell that he was enjoying it. _

_ It took an hour and several attempts of climbing him until Kaoru took control of the situation, mostly because by then the twins were probably already satisfied from messing with him — which included things like _ his ears are fluffy too! _ and _ Yuta, help me go up his back! _ — for so long and instead decided to climb Rei again, Hinata sitting on his shoulders and Yuta dangling from his left arm. Playtime was over soon after that, when Adonis entered the room announcing that he had cooked dinner for everyone. _

_ The food tasted surprisingly good, especially to Kaoru, who was expecting it to be meat with a side of meat and then more meat. The children ate a lot, more than it looked like they could fit inside their small bodies, and promptly fell asleep right after, finally adding some peace to their night. It was while he and Rei were tucking them in bed that the subject was first brought to light, innocence in Rei’s first words as he draped a blanket over Yuta, “they’re great children, aren’t they?” _

_ “Maybe a little too agitated for my taste.” Kaoru said, carefully adjusting the pillow under Hinata’s head. _

_ “Oh, I’m sure you’ll get used to it soon enough.” _

_ “Yeah, doubt it.” He took a pause to let Rei’s words sink in before turning back. “Wait. How exactly am I going to get used to them?” _

_ “Well, since they seemed to like you so much, I figured it’d be great for you to take—” _

_ “Rei.” _

_ “them in! It’d be so good for them to be raised by one of their own kind, after all.” Rei finished, joining his hands in front of him with a glint in his eyes. _

_ “Rei, you are not throwing your kids at me.” He could barely look at Rei’s face, that expression as if his idea was the best one he’s ever had just a tad bit too irritating for Kaoru to handle. _

_ “I’m not _throwing_ them at you, I’m just giving the three of you a great opportunity to grow together, and extending it as a personal request of mine. You know I can’t simply raise children like that, Kaoru, even if they’re the most adorable things I’ve ever taken in.” _

_ “I refuse your request, then.” Kaoru made sure to make his voice sound as firm as he could, stepping out of the room after that to make his way to his own, only to find that Rei was following him, his face a bit more serious now. _

_ “I’m not trying to force you, but I’d like it if you gave it a bit more thought than simply dismissing it like this.” He caught up quick enough, pacing himself to walk along Kaoru’s side. _

_ “I already gave it a thought.” He grabbed the handle for his room, opening the door while looking in Rei’s direction. “The answer’s no, Rei, I’m not raising your children for you.” _

_ “Kaoru—” _

_ Slamming the door shut, Kaoru didn’t try to hear what else Rei was saying on the other side, only making the effort of taking off his clothes before throwing himself on his bed, quickly passing out soon after. _

—

Thinking back at it, he had been pretty adamant about not raising kids. He was young, had an extremely non-child-friendly lifestyle, and definitely wasn’t keen on getting two clear troublemakers on his back for who knows how long. Rei didn’t _really_ give up after that, and for the entire time Kaoru stayed — which ended up amounting to a good few months — it was pretty obvious how he would take every opportunity to give him and the twins some kind of “bonding activities”, not even counting how attached the little things became to him, climbing, fluffing, hugging and dragging him everywhere whenever they could, which was pretty much always.

There’s no way he could help getting attached to them as well, is what Kaoru tells himself when those memories come to him. Absolutely no chance he could do anything but, begrudgingly, accept Rei’s proposal and take those kids to raise by himself, accompanying him on his travels. He would never put into words how glad he was he didn’t give up on them back then, and that they didn’t give up on him. He doesn’t know who he would’ve been by now, had those two brats not been with him for the past decade and a half.

“Wooow~! It’s so bright even from here!” He’s brought back to the present by Hinata’s enthusiastic exclamation, watching the boy jump around in the direction of the lights.

“Festivals always look so pretty!” Yuta jumps after his brother, both their tails wagging in excitement.

“Hey, don’t run ahead too far.” Kaoru instructs, but makes little effort to catch up. He’d usually tell them to hide their ears and tails, since many places are dangerous for them to be openly around, but thankfully they are in a safe area today, so it is almost cute watching them let it out with no worries for their appearance.

The festival is even brighter than it seemed from far away, littered with colourful lanterns and several other light sources. The twins almost immediately run to the food area, this time truly leaving Kaoru behind. He doesn’t go after them, getting distracted right at the beginning by a stall selling small accessories. Kaoru isn’t one to bother with hair ornaments, being a dancer who prefers to focus adornments on other parts of his body, but it’s not for himself he’s looking at those for.

—

It was both common and easy for him to get crushes on other people; his first one was at a very young age, one of Rei’s friends who had shiny blue hair and liked to pet his head and call him a good boy. It didn’t last very long, maybe a week at most before he noticed it was not real infatuation.

And that stayed true for most of his “loves”. At least, until a few years before. It was through Rei yet again that he met one of the most enchanting people he had ever seen. The silky, long red hair with white strands, those bright golden eyes and the elegance and confidence with which he carried himself in celestial clothing had Kaoru’s eyes glowing from the start. It was also the first time Kaoru felt _shy_ about liking someone, such unusual feeling making it hard to interact with the target of his affection, blushing whenever Natsume talked to him a certain way or touched him slightly in other moments.

Obliviousness took over him so strongly he failed to notice the purposefulness of Natsume’s actions; the way his touches lingered, or how his words sounded like they had spells hidden under them, making him fall deeper and deeper. It was after weeks of inaction that Natsume lost his patience, pulling Kaoru into his room and kissing him until he lost his breath and melted to the ground. The pride in Natsume’s eyes as he took him to bed that night is something Kaoru will never forget.

—

And that’s how they started dating. Of course, with how different their lifestyles were, it wasn’t really possible for them to live together, or meet very consistently, but they tried their best; and it was working, if the couple of years they’ve been together was anything to go by.

One of the things Kaoru remembers the most about Natsume is how pretty his hair always looks, and the tons of different hairstyles he saw him with. So looking at those ornaments reminded him of his beloved, and he couldn’t help smiling at that memory as he touched an ornate golden flower with his fingertips, thinking if he should buy it as a gift for the next time they meet.

“Oya?” Yuta’s voice comes from extremely close to Kaoru’s ear, making him jump back in surprise.

“Oya oya?” Hinata appears from his other side, absolutely no sign showing that he was there seconds before.

“What is Kaoru looking at?”

“Are you thinking of a special someone?”

“Oh! Aniki, I think I know who it is!”

“Me too, Yuta! Of course, Kaoru is always thinking about—“

“Alright,” Kaoru covers both their mouths with his hands, stopping their blabbering, “enough of that. You guys sure were quick.” He says, noticing how the two of them already had food on their hands.

“Everything looked yummy so it was hard to decide at first,” Yuta takes a bite of his chicken skewer, which looked too red to be chicken, so Kaoru can only imagine how spicy that must be, “but then we realised we eat a lot anyway, so we just got a bit of everything!” He lifts his other hand, showing a big paper recipient with several different types of food. Hinata is holding just as much food as his brother, his collection even including some sweets in between.

“But anyway, we found something fun at the back!” Indicating with his head, Hinata probably would’ve pulled Kaoru by the wrist had any of his hands been free. “Come see!”

Thankfully, they dropped the teasing quickly enough, Kaoru truly appreciates how easy it is to change the topic of a conversation with them. Following them curiously, they quickly arrived at a place where a small stage had been built, clearly meant as the centrepiece of the festival

“Look, they’re dancing!” Yuta announces the obvious while pointing to the two people performing to the rhythm of a song being played by the group behind them. “Kaoru should dance too!”

Well, that’s an unexpected suggestion. Kaoru is no stranger to dancing in front of many people, being a performer for most of his life, but breaking into a festival performance is new. Not that he would refuse, of course, only those words are enough to prompt him towards climbing into the stage. The two dancers look startled for a second, what’s with a random kitsune appearing like that, but seemingly accustomed with those things happening at open festivities — or maybe it is just that kind of festival —, they offer the stage to him quick enough.

“The name’s Kaoru, and I’ll be your dancer for tonight.” He announces, basking in the curious and excited looks directed at him before turning around to talk to the band, directing them on which song they would play. He comes back to the centre of the stage then, waiting for the melody to start his movements.

He’s slow at first, small and calm movements to follow the beginning of the music. Step after step just as he danced this hundreds of times before. It picks up only about a minute in, and then Kaoru finally can show his entire grace. The tingling of his bracelets with each wave of his arms resonate with the instruments, and even the sounds of his steps with every turn, jump, and twirl follows the rhythm as well. He keeps his bright smile all throughout, both enjoying his choreography and the expressions of bewilderment on the faces of the people watching him, the twins amongst them, seemingly already finished with their food and now fully focused on his performance.

It doesn’t take long for the audience to join their claps to the music, motivating Kaoru even more to do his best to show off, but instead that excites everyone a little _too_ much, and soon enough Hinata and Yuta are joining him on stage the moment a second music starts. They’re lively and dazzling in a way different from his, but it’s still exactly as he taught them. To follow the melody in a group instead of solo is easy for them, just as they’ve been practising for so many years already. And it’s _fun_ to perform like that with who were basically his apprentices. The enjoyment seems to raise for both themselves and the people watching, for even them started dancing on their spots. It doesn’t take long for the entire festival to catch up to their activities, dragging them late into the night with the festivities.

—

It must be already close to dawn when they finally reach their camp, sleep seeming useless when they’ll have to wake up soon anyway, but tiredness doesn’t agree with logic. Kaoru drops on the sleeping mat the moment he reaches it, face down onto the pillow, groaning quietly as he does so. He turns his head to the side only because he knows he, sadly, needs to breathe, and is met immediately with the hairbrush he had left there before going out. The hairbrush he had received as a gift from his lover.

_ Oh. _

That’s right, he got so distracted by everything that he didn’t remember to go back and buy the flower for Natsume. Now that the festival has ended, he doubts he’ll ever find that again— ornaments like that are one of a kind, after all. His ears drop immediately at that realisation, lifting himself up as his tail wags sadly, grabbing the brush from where it stood. It was such an obvious show of his feelings there’s no way the twins wouldn’t catch up, jumping from where they had thrown themselves on their own mats to get close to him.

“Kaoru?” Yuta calls him, putting a hand on his shoulder. His expression worried.

“What happened?” Hinata follows, looking over him to see what he’s holding. Instead of the worry from before, his face immediately falls into realisation. “Oh! That’s right!” His exclamation must mean something for Yuta as well, for both of them scoot to get something from behind him.

Kaoru can’t see what it is until it’s put right in front of his face. “You forgot about this, right?” In Yuta’s hand is the golden flower he was thinking about, beautiful as it was when he saw it earlier that night. Relief courses through him immediately, and he grabs both of them by the neck to squish them close, yelps leaving their mouths.

“You two,” he begins, mouth full of orange hair, “are the best children in the world.”

“Yes we are!” The twins say in unison, tails wagging with happiness.

“We’d never distract you into missing a gift like that!”

“I’m sure Natsume will like it very much~!”

Their ears twitch in time with their tails, and the smile on their faces almost makes Kaoru want to smooch those red cheeks. “Yeah, he will.” He agrees, smiling back at them. He lets go of them to finally grab the ornament from Yuta’s hand, turning around to stash it in his bag along with the hairbrush. He quickly goes back to his position of laying down on the mat, this time followed by a twin on each side of him. “Haaah, I’m glad today ended on a good note.” Kaoru exhales, putting one arm behind his head. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Hinata scoots closer, dropping his head on Kaoru’s right shoulder.

“But aren’t you forgetting something?” Yuta asks, his head now on Kaoru’s other shoulder.

“Hmm?”

“You know, what you’re supposed to say when we’re good kids!” He looks Kaoru in the eyes, clear expectancy on his face.

“Yeah yeah, that thing!” Hinata agrees, pushing him towards it.

Those sly little things _really_ want to make him say it, and who is he to say no. “Alright,” Kaoru gives in, moving just a bit so he can be comfortable with their new position before uttering the words they want to hear, “I love you guys.”

“Yaaaay!” They would probably throw their arms up had it not been for the impossibility of it given how they were laying, but the excitement was clear enough in their voice. “We love you too, dad!”

Ah. That was sudden.

Kaoru isn’t really used to getting called dad, with how they’ve been calling him by his name since they first met. But it happened, sometimes, as it should when you raise two kids by yourself for so long. Those moments were always special, making Kaoru’s heart flutter in delight, and today is no different. He lets out a muffled sound as he snuggles them closer, an arm around Yuta while his tail curls around Hinata, controlling it so it doesn’t wag from his happiness. _Thank you too, Rei_, he thinks for a brief moment as his eyes close, _for bringing these two to me_.

**Author's Note:**

> Me? Writing non-explicit work? More likely than you think.  
This is just a small story and gift for my friend's Fire Emblem AU, which they have been working on really hard, and got me deeply invested in it. Thank you for letting me write for it, Lachla! Check out their [AU twitter](https://twitter.com/fiemenst) where they talk about it, it's amazing.
> 
> And thank you for reading! I had to (try to) learn how to write characters I'm usually not good with for this fic, and probably will have to do many more since I want to keep writing for this universe, so I'd appreciate feedback, and I hope you enjoyed it!


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